New pain drug aims to get your gut moving again after surgery

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Scheduled to undergo elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. 2. Age ≥ 18 years. 3. Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18 and 30 kg/m². 4. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification of I to III. 5. Requires postoperative analgesia and is capable of correctly using a patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) pump. 6. Understands the trial objectives and voluntarily participates, providing written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Undergoing gastrointestinal tract surgery. 2. Has advanced cancer with ascites or extensive metastasis, or is receiving systemic chemotherapy/radiotherapy, or requires postoperative hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). 3. Diagnosed or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction or emptying disorder. 4. History of severe cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease (e.g., severe sinus bradycardia, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, grade II or higher atrioventricular block, history of arrhythmia, NYHA class II or higher heart failure, ischemic stroke) or abnormal QTcF interval at screening ( \>450 ms for males, \>470 ms for females). 5. Comorbid psychiatric or neurological disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy) or cognitive dysfunction. 6. Known allergy to opioid drugs or any component of the trial medications. 7. Current acute or chronic pain conditions, or presence of hyperalgesia or other sensory disorders. 8. Long-term opioid therapy (defined as receiving \>15 mg morphine milligram equivalents per day for more than 3 days per week, over a period exceeding 1 month within the 12 months prior to surgery). 9. Pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those with a positive pregnancy test at screening or on the day of surgery; or participants (including males) planning for pregnancy. 10. Significant hepatic or renal dysfunction (e.g., ALT/AST \> 3 times the upper limit of normal, or requiring renal replacement therapy). 11. Planned admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for postoperative management. 12. Participation in another interventional clinical trial within the 3 months prior to randomization. 13. Any other condition deemed by the investigator as unsuitable for participation in this trial.